Hack An IKEA Shelf Into A Stylish Rabbit Hutch

A good quality rabbit hutch can set you back as much as $500 -- or you could hack a $190 IKEA shelf unit to serve the same purpose. The result is a highly elegant bunny home that will fit in nicely with the rest of your décor.

Armed with an IKEA Besta shelf unit, MDF board and some mesh wire, you can build a rabbit hutch fit for the rabbit god Lord Frith.

Evelien Lulofs at IKEA Hackers provides the details:

I made an opening between the two cabinets and finished the hole with some wood slats. To make wire doors I made an MDF board frame with a slit to fasten the wire. The body of the inside needs to be waterproof, so I made it from some mosaic tiles. Bunny like to lie soft, so I've put a nice soft mat inside the hutch.

Evelien's instructions aren't particularly detailed, especially if you're a woodwork newbie (in fact, your bunny would probably have a better chance building the hutch than you do). Thankfully, the Dutch rabbit-lover has drawn up some plans which you can see to the left (click to enlarge). She has also provided some photos to guide you through the steps. Note that the bottom of the cage should be half mesh for the rabbit's droppings to fall into so that it isn't forced to sit in its own waste.

This was great until I got to the part about the mesh bottom. This sounds like a great idea, but it's really bad for the bunny's feet (which have no padding to protect them from the harsh wire). Bunnies (especially after they are spayed or neutered) are very easy to train to a litter box, so having a mesh bottom is completely unnecessary, as well. Having a *waterproof* bottom is probably wise, though. That's not so much for urine as for naughty bunnies who like to tip over their water bowl for fun – but nobunny is accident-proof, so it's probably good to have something that's easily wiped and swept (for the hay that's a bunny essential) clean.

I think it is weird that LifeHacker included their own tip to make the bottom of the cage partially wire. The creator of the hitch clearly states that the whole floor is tile, which is easy to clean (and grippy enough for bunny's furry feet, and stays cool enough to lay on in hot weather), plus bunnies are quite easy to litter train and generally only go in one (soft) corner of their room. They will often enjoy hanging out in the soft little box or munching hay there, but so long it is large enough and the litter material changed every day, it won't cause issues of them getting dirty or soggy.